It's my journal 
(if you already read the intro about interstitial cystitis, check out today's thoughts underneath the row of pretty pretty stars)
I thought it would be cool to document teh life of a chick who's got the girlie-disease "interstitial cystitis."
A lotta people don't know what I.C. is so here goes: incurable tiny ulcers inside the wall of your bladder make it hard to walk, exercise, eat, drink, fuck, dance, breathe, smell flowers, blah blah blah.
The thing is? I have this disease and i'm still kickin' ass.
And other for-real chicks that have bullshit going on with their bodies can relate.
No matter what our mutherfucking misogynistic doctors, sadistic nurses, well-meaning family members, and uninformed aquaintances say, we are awesome, and we can do a good job of taking care of ourselves, thankyouverymuch.
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The pain I get is associated with what doctors call "urgency" - basically I feel like I have to pee super bad even when there is no juice left to squeeze from my orange. Since my bladder is constantly sending "ALERT!" messages, my limbic system gets out of whack and I'm in an almost constant state of panic. I'm used to it by now and the anxiety rarely shows, but the combo of pain and anxiety does keep me up at night.
And that is why today is Book Report day! Not only are books engaging enough that they use up some of my anxious energy, but they make me feel less lonely in the world and keep me in touch with what it's like to be a normal person (cause sometimes I forget!).
On Subbing, by Dave Roche.
Dave, a Minor Threat fan with a band of his own (I'm lame and don't know their name), lives in Portland and worked as a sub for assistants in special classrooms with kids who had severe behavioral or physical problems. He wrote a zine about it for a while, then got it published by Microcosm Publishers.
Roche's style is almost completely unadorned so it feels like you're just reading a letter from a friend. He's not at all afraid to discuss the times he humiliated himself in public, so you get completely emotionally invested in the story.
Besides learning about the atmosphere in special classrooms, you get to see the uber-structured world of public school through the eyes of a died-in-the-textured-recycled-fiber Punk kid. Roche evolves over the four-year period of subbing, eventually finding that he can maintain a sense of self as well as earn a buck and tolerate teachers who put Kenny G CDs on repeat.
Super fun, especially if you think you want to teach!
A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge - Hugo Award Winner
I don't naturally seek out SciFi and this book was hard for me to stick with, but once I got about 1/3 of the way through, I really got hooked.
The setting is a planet inhabited by creatures called "Tines," who can't survive as individuals. Three or four of them form a "pack" and share brain waves. They are super intelligent but lack opposable thumbs, so their technology is primitive. The story begins when a human refugee ship crash-lands on the Tines's planet and the two races are forced to try to understand each other.
An impending war between Tinish countries and the perils of survival without technology make the story super exciting. Vinge also explores issues of racism, weapon-control, and....you know, all that typical SciFi social commentary.
Awesome read. Totally recommended.
By me.
(if you already read the intro about interstitial cystitis, check out today's thoughts underneath the row of pretty pretty stars)
I thought it would be cool to document teh life of a chick who's got the girlie-disease "interstitial cystitis."
A lotta people don't know what I.C. is so here goes: incurable tiny ulcers inside the wall of your bladder make it hard to walk, exercise, eat, drink, fuck, dance, breathe, smell flowers, blah blah blah.
The thing is? I have this disease and i'm still kickin' ass.
And other for-real chicks that have bullshit going on with their bodies can relate.
No matter what our mutherfucking misogynistic doctors, sadistic nurses, well-meaning family members, and uninformed aquaintances say, we are awesome, and we can do a good job of taking care of ourselves, thankyouverymuch.
****************************************************************************************************************************
The pain I get is associated with what doctors call "urgency" - basically I feel like I have to pee super bad even when there is no juice left to squeeze from my orange. Since my bladder is constantly sending "ALERT!" messages, my limbic system gets out of whack and I'm in an almost constant state of panic. I'm used to it by now and the anxiety rarely shows, but the combo of pain and anxiety does keep me up at night.
And that is why today is Book Report day! Not only are books engaging enough that they use up some of my anxious energy, but they make me feel less lonely in the world and keep me in touch with what it's like to be a normal person (cause sometimes I forget!).
On Subbing, by Dave Roche.
Dave, a Minor Threat fan with a band of his own (I'm lame and don't know their name), lives in Portland and worked as a sub for assistants in special classrooms with kids who had severe behavioral or physical problems. He wrote a zine about it for a while, then got it published by Microcosm Publishers.
Roche's style is almost completely unadorned so it feels like you're just reading a letter from a friend. He's not at all afraid to discuss the times he humiliated himself in public, so you get completely emotionally invested in the story.
Besides learning about the atmosphere in special classrooms, you get to see the uber-structured world of public school through the eyes of a died-in-the-textured-recycled-fiber Punk kid. Roche evolves over the four-year period of subbing, eventually finding that he can maintain a sense of self as well as earn a buck and tolerate teachers who put Kenny G CDs on repeat.
Super fun, especially if you think you want to teach!
A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge - Hugo Award Winner
I don't naturally seek out SciFi and this book was hard for me to stick with, but once I got about 1/3 of the way through, I really got hooked.
The setting is a planet inhabited by creatures called "Tines," who can't survive as individuals. Three or four of them form a "pack" and share brain waves. They are super intelligent but lack opposable thumbs, so their technology is primitive. The story begins when a human refugee ship crash-lands on the Tines's planet and the two races are forced to try to understand each other.
An impending war between Tinish countries and the perils of survival without technology make the story super exciting. Vinge also explores issues of racism, weapon-control, and....you know, all that typical SciFi social commentary.
Awesome read. Totally recommended.
By me.
VIEW 9 of 9 COMMENTS
exactly.
i have it too and mine is bordering on severe. but i hate it when i hear the expression "if you suffer from IC". i dont want to suffer i want to deal with it and still kick ass.